Rail fissure detector



Dec. 12, 1939. v H. c. DRAKE 2,183,118

RAIL FISSURE DETECTOR Original Filed March 18, 1930 I 4 I INVENTOR 3195' "amour! 6.9mm

AT'ToR Y Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES mans RAIL rrssuar. DETECTOR Harcourt C. Drake, Hempstead, N. Y., aasignor to Sperry Products, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y. a corporation of New York Original application February 4, 1933,

Serial No.

655,223, which is a division of application Scrial No. 436,660,-March 18, 19,30. Divided and this application May 9, 1935, Serial No.'20,550

2 Claims.

This application is a division of my co-pendin application, Serial No. 655,223, filed February 4, 1933, which has matured as Patent No. 2,069,030, granted January 26, 1937, the latter application being a division of copending application Serial No. 436,660, filed March 18, 1930, which-has maggigd into Patent No. 1,912,569, granted June 6,

This invention relates to improvements in rail fissure detectors of th type adapted to .be mount ed on a moving car.

More specifically it is one object of this invention to insure operation of the paint gun which is employed for marking the spot on a rail where a fissure occurs. It has been found in practice that the very short energization of the detecting mechanism caused by the relatively rapid movement of the detector mechanism over a fissure was sometimes insuflicient to actuate the paint gun operating mechanism. By my invention such operation is insured.

It is a further object of my invention to provide means for preventing operation of the paint gun when the detector mechanism passes over the rail joints. 1 accomplish this function without preventing actuation of the-usual recorder on the recording chart for indicating rail joints. For

this purpose I employ a mechanical means designed to engage the angle bar which connects the rails at the joints. I provide means also for insuring that the'paint gun will not be operated until the recording mechanism has passed completely beyond the said angle bar.

Heretofore the paint gun has been mounted on the car body and this has resulted in the wiping off of the gun by obstructions in the path of and the time lag of the paint gun operating tion-will become apparent in thefoliowing detailed description:

mechanism. I

- Further objects and advantages of this inven- In the accompanying drawing: I

Fig. 1 is a. side elevation of a Sperry detector car, showing generally the location of the principal elements of the detector mechanism.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail, partly sectioned vertically, of a portion of the contact brush holder and detector mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view disclosing the means for preventing operation of the paint gun when the detector mechanism passes over rail joints.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a Sperry rail detector car having a contact brush carriage or holder II and a detector sled l2 supported on said holder II. The contact brushes Iii-i4 carried by the contact brush holder H are designed to lead high amperage current into the rail and the coils in the detector'sled are designed to pick up any variations in fiux causedby flaws and transmitthe same through, an amplifier to arecording mechanism as disclosed in the patent of Elmer A. Sperry, Reissue No. 18,555, granted August 2, 1932. The amplifying means is also designed to energize a mechanism for operating a paint gun l5 for squirting paint" upon the rail at the point where a flaw or fissure is detected by the detector mechanism. To insure operation of the paint gun l5 when passing over a rail flaw or fissure, I provide the mechanism disclosed in Fig. 3.- The normal paint gun operating mechanism is shown as-comprising an electromagnet 20 energized from'the amplifying system, said magnet attracting its armature 2| to close a set of contacts 22, to close a circuit extending from the plus sign through magnet 23, contacts 22; contacts H, to the minus sign, thus energizing electromagnet 23 which attracts its armature 24 to actuate a recording pen carried thereby. The closing of contacts 22 also energizes electromagnet'25, in parallel with the circuit just traced, which attracts its armature 26 to close the circuit through electromagnet 21, which then attracts its armature 28 to close contacts 29. This permits full voltage from a main supply source of volts to be applied to an electromagnet 30 which attracts its armature 3| tooperate a valve 32 to permit air pressure to pass into pipe 33 and discharge paint from gun l5 on the track.

In order to insureoperation of the paint gun when passing over a flaw, I provide an additional winding 25' which is energized at the same time as winding 25. -When the detector mechanism has passed over the fiaw and contacts 22 open to deenergize coil 25, coil ,25 will still be energized because it will be seen that it has an independent circuit extending through armature 26, contacts 26' and the conductor 50 to the negative .side of the line. Once coils 25- and 25' are energized, therefore, coil 25' will hold the armature 26 even though contacts 22 open, to maintain the circuit through coils 21 and 30 until armature 28 has been fully drawn down to open contacts 29 and thus break the circuit through electromagnet 25'. The full movement of armature 28, however, insures the operation of the paint gun.

It will be seen that contacts 29' are not in series with magnet 21 but said contacts 29' are in a parallel circuit. If contacts 29' were in series with magnet 21, then opening of contacts 29' would cause deenergization of the magnet 21, release of armature 28 and closing of contacts 29'. The contacts 26 do not open as quickly as contacts 29 owing to the lag in deenergizing magnet '25 and releasing armature 26. So that contacts 29 will have closed again before contacts 26' have opened, and, if contacts 29' and magnet 21 were connected in series, the magnet 21 would again be energized and thus set up a chattering of armature 28. But by connecting contacts 29' in a parallel circuit, opening of said contacts does not deenergize magnet 21 until contacts 26' are opened, and chattering of armature 28 is thus prevented.

Referring to the same Fig. 3, I have disclosed also a means for preventing operation of the said paint gun when the detector mechanism passes over a rail joint, since obviously magnetic flux variation, due to a rail joint, would tend to operate the paint gun operating mechanism in the same manner as aflaw or fissure within the rail. For this purpose I provide a mechanically pivoted lever 40 so supported as to engage the angle bar at the side of the rail and connecting the two rails at the joint. As lever 40 engages the angle bar it closes a set of contacts 4| to energize coils 42 and 43 to open contacts 44 and close contacts 45. The opening of contacts 44 prevents energization of electromagnet 25 and 25' and hence of the circuit through magnet 21 and magnet 30, while the closing of contacts 45' closes the circuit through electromagnet 5| to actuate the armature 52 which operates the joint recording pen on the chart. The opening of contacts 44 serves also to break the circuit through coil 23 so that the fissure-recording pen will not be actuated when the detector passes over a rail- Join Since the lever 40 would normally disengage the angle bar before the detector sled has passed beyond the rail joint, I provide a second lever 40' so positioned with respect to lever 40 that it will engage the angle bar before lever 40 has left the bar to close a set of contacts 4| in parallel with contacts 4| to perform the same function and continue the action of contacts 4| in preventing operation of the paint gun l5 until the detector sled has passed entirely beyond the rail joint.

Referring to Fig. 2 it'will be observed that I have mounted the paint gun l5 on the contact brush holder so that it will be raised and lowered together with said holder. Heretofore the paint gun was mounted on the car body and was frequently wiped off by obstructions at the side of the path of travel of the car. By the construction shown in Fig. 2, this is impossible and the paint gun is at all times maintained in a safe position.

Referring to the same Fig. 2, it will be observed that the paint gun I5 is mounted a certain distance behind the detector sled l2. This distance is so proportioned that the speed of the car and the lag in operation of the paint gun operating mechanism will be compensated for by the distance which the paint gun I5 must travel before reaching the flaw picked up by the sled I2.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have herein described the principle and operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means. Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements in the combination and relations described, some of these may be altered and others omitted without interfering with the more general results outlined, and the invention extends to such use.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a means adapted to move over the rails for detecting rail flaws, a rail marking means, means for rendering said marking means efiective, including a relay, means whereby said detecting means energizes said relay when passing over a flaw, said energization being ordinarily of relatively short duration due to characteristics of the flaw and the movement of ,said detecting means, and means for ensuring operation of said marking means, said ensuring means comprising means whereby the energization of said relay is prolonged.

2. In combination, a means adapted to move over the rails for detecting rail flaws, a rail marking means, means for rendering said marking means effective including a relay and an armature, means whereby said detecting means energizes said relay when passing over a. flaw, said energization being ordinarily of relatively short duration due to characteristics of the flaw and the movement of said detecting means, and means for ensuring operation of said marking means, said ensuring means comprising means whereby the energization of said relay is prolonged until said relay attracts said armature.

HARCOURT C. DRAKE. 

